Flax-harvester.



PATENTED FEB. 4, 1968.

J. H. PHILIPP.

vI'LAX HARVESTER. APPLICATION FILED MAR. g. 1907.

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wwento'c wihwooeo THE Nomns PETERS co., WASHINGTON, n c.

No. 878,311. PATENTED FEB. 4, 1908. J. H. PHILIPP.

FLAX'HARVESTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. B. 1907.

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Wit-M emu I aumwq UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JULIUS H. PHILIPP, OF PORT HURON, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOCHARLES F. GARAGHTY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

FLAX-HARVE STER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 4:, 1908.

Application filed March 8. 1907. Serial No. 361.240.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, J ULIUS H. PHILIPP, a citizen of the United States,residing at Port Huron, in the county of St. Clair and State ofMichigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFlax-Harvesters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to flax harvesters or pullers, and has for itsobject to provide improved means for pulling the flax, said meanscomprising, speaking generally, a series of pairs of rollers gearedtogether andcarried at the front end of the platform, the rollers ofeach pair working in opposite directions, and the platform beingprovided with guards in front of the rollers which. direct the flaxbetween the same, where it is caught and pulled.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a top plan view. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the outer end of theplatform, showing the divider. Fig. 4 is a detail in rear elevation.

Referring specifically to the drawings, 6 indicates the platform, thefront sill of which is indicated at 7. Secured by bolts 8 to the frontsill are the guards or fingers 9 which project forwardly therefrom andtaper to a point at the front, the lower edge being curved upwardly asat 10 to travel readily over the ground and through the flax. The guardsare of considerable height or depth, so that the points thereof areseveral inches above the ground, and at the rear ends the guards are ofconsiderable width, to aflord bearing spaces for the rollers to behereinafter described. The sides of the guards are properly curved orinclined to gather the flax stalks therebetween and guide the same tothe pulling rollers. These rollers, 11, are set in recesses 12 in therear side of the guards, at an angle of about forty-five or fiftydegrees from the horizontal. Each guard carries or accommodates tworollers. The front ends of the rollers are tapered off, as at 13, toallow the flax to enter therebetween, and the rollers have pivots 14 atthe front ends thereof which work in bearing boxes .15 which are held inundercut recesses 16 at the upper end of the recesses 12. The boxes 15are slidable sidewise in the recesses 16 and are held therein by plates17 at the ends of the re- 1 cesses. A spring 18 is placed in compressionbetween the boxes in each recess, and allows the rollers to yieldaccording to the nature or amount of stalks which enter therebetween.

It will be observed that one roller of each pair is carried by oneguard, and the cooperating roller is carried by the next adjacent guard,so that stalks entering between the guards are acted upon by said pair,the respective rollers revolving in opposite directions.

The spindles 19 at the rear ends of the rollers extend through bearingslots 20 in the rear or lower part of the guards, and are provided withgears 21, which are located in the space between the guards and thefront sill of the platform, and which mesh with each other to cause therollers of the respective pairs to revolve in opposite directions. Thegears have deep teeth, so that the rollers may yield laterally to asuflicient extent, without disengaging the gears. Cap pieces 22 arebolted to the top of the sill 7, and to the upper edge of the guards,and serve to cover the gearing. The gears are driven from the maindriving devices of the machine, in any suitable manner. At the outeredge of the platform is a divider 23, which serves a well-known purpose,and is supported by a wheel 24. Owing to the close growth of flax it isadvisable that means be provided to prevent clogging or entanglement ofthe divider, and said means consists of a rotary cutter 25 having aseries of knives which work closely beside the divider board and serveto out the tops of the flax and to form a clear way for the divider asit passes therethrough. The cutter is driven by a chain belt 26 from thewheel 24.

As the machine travels the llax is guided by means of the guards 9between the rollers 11, which, owing to their rotation and the angle atwhich they are set, engage and pull the stalks of flax and depositthesame on the platform. The angle at which the rollers are set causes themto run down the stalks with gradually increasing pull and also to clearthemselves by delivering the product backwardly onto the platform.

I claim:

In a flax harvester, in combination, a platform, a sill at the frontthereof, guards secured to the under side of the sill and projectingforwardly therefrom and having lower edges curved upwardly at the front,pieces secured to the top of the sill and to the and also havingrecesses 1n the rear side, said upper edge of the guards, over saldgears. 10

recesses being undercut in the guards at the In testimony whereof IafiiX my signature, top, a series of pairs of pulling rollers set in inpresence of two Witnesses.

said recesses and having bearing boxes at the JULIUS H. PHILIPP. upperend slidable laterally in the said under- WVitnesses:

out part of the recesses, gears between the. H. A. MAITLAND, rollers atthe lower end thereof, and cap S. MGFARLAND.

